Dear Anjali…

You don’t know Anjali Sharma?

She’s the young woman the Australian media would love to style as Australia’s own version of Greta Thunberg - Saint Greta - remember her?

So, Anjali recently wrote a short opinion piece in The Guardian Australia. In it, the young climate starlet complains bitterly that leaders aren’t listening to the young generation and don’t care that they’re burning up their future.

You see, after her ultimately failed law suit against the federal environment minister she thinks legislation will fix her generation’s future, so she and her movement convinced a senator to support and introduce into parliament the duty of care bill, which late last year was recommended not to be passed.

My first reaction to Anjali’s article was a sarcastic ‘boohoo’.

But then I cast my mind back some thirty odd years, and I remembered a highly idealistic, leftist, much younger me, green behind my ears, convinced that the world was going down the gurgler because those in power were acting so irresponsibly. I, on the other hand, knew exactly what had to change for the world to be saved.

I do have sympathy for young people. Teenagers and young people experience angst and insecurity - it’s part and parcel of growing up. No matter how intelligent they are, it takes time to overcome those unknown unknowns. No doubt: sometimes young people do have a point and can be positive agents for change. And absolutely there are still environmental crimes being committed. However, the prevailing catastrophism for which Anjali stands is ultimately based on ludicrous junk science in my view. She and her friends are fighting against windmills... But seriously, there are many social and environmental issues they could focus on instead.

There is nothing new about young people feeling their future is being destroyed. I remember similar sentiments were prominent during the Cold War and the heyday of Greenpeace.

But what has changed is the ferocity, prevalence and intensity of the fear mongering in a hyper-connected culture plagued by incessant information overload, while at the same time debate, discourse and critical thinking are not promoted or even actively suppressed in mainstream society. There’s barely time to think and reflect. And there is no escaping for most people from this doom and gloom propaganda.

Little wonder our societies, and young people in particular, are in the grip of nihilism and a victim mentality mindset. The media happily perpetuates this status quo and shamelessly exploit people like Anjali.

This unhappy constellation inevitably has an effect on the state of mind of an increasing number of young people. We already have psychologists specialising in ‘climate anxiety’ and ‘eco anxiety’. No kidding! They are benefitting and feeding the monster even further. Next will probably be TRAD, Trump-related anxiety disorder, or something similarly absurd. Not to speak of other hangers-on to this apocalipsology: lawyers, NGOs, and even industry and politics who all love to virtue signal and get their share of the panic pie. It appears our society exists and is driven by a constant state of fear, crisis and emergency.

What can be done?

Well, what I’ve learnt throughout covid and the whole climate debate is that you cannot change people’s minds.

All we can do is role model what we’d like to see: critical thinking and analysis, engage in nuanced discussion, call out the nonsense, and express and promote commonsense views at every opportunity.